We are sorry, Dr Abdus Salam

Dr Abdus Salam had a vision for the socio-economic development of third-world countries and saw development in the progress of science. PHOTO:FILE

November 21, marks the death anniversary ofDr Abdus Salam– Pakistan’s onlyNobel laureateand one of the legendary physicists of the 20thcentury. The list of his achievements and awards is so long that one wonders how an ordinary man who grew up in the outskirts ofJhang, a relatively small and less developed city in Punjab, could accomplish so much.

These are just a few selected contributions out of many. Salam’s biggest dream was to establish an international research centre in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Government of Pakistan did not show any interest in his cause and eventually Salam had to set up the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, the name of which was later changed to Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.

Just last year, when the world of physics applauded the discovery of the ‘God-particle’, CNN’s report was enough to make us lower our heads in shame.

“Imagine a world where the merchant of death is rewarded, while a scientific visionary is disowned and forgotten. Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate, the first Muslim to win the Physics’ prize helped lay the groundwork that led to the Higgs Boson breakthrough. And yet in Pakistani schools, his name is erased from the text books…”

Although Salam worked all his life in order to serve his motherland, his countrymen failed him.

How can we even attempt to excuse ourselves from this failure?

While most countries worship their heroes, we chose to reject Abdus Salam.

Salam received the Nobel Prize in traditional Punjabi attire and quoted the verses of the Quran in his acceptance speech. However, he had already been disowned in Pakistan. On his return to Pakistan in December 1979, there was no one from the public to receive him at the airport. He was like a pariah in his own country.

He could not even give a lecture in the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, since there were threats of violence from students belonging to Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba. This was not an isolated event and other institutes also found it difficult to invite him for the same reason. His reputation was further tarnished when the right-wing journalist stalwarts came up with their fictional stories claiming him an agent and a traitor, who had sold the country’s nuclear secrets to India.

Salam’s misery did not end here.

In 1988, he had to wait for two days in a hotel room to meet with the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. However, the meeting was cancelled without any reason given.

Unfortunately, he was not even spared in death.

The epitaph on his tombstone was defaced and the word ‘Muslim’ was erased on the orders of the local magistrate. This final disgrace explains why this hero was abandoned in the first place. The theological amendment in the constitution of Pakistan does not allow members of the Ahmadiyya faith to call themselves Muslims.

Ironically for the rest of the world, Salam is still a Muslim and a hero.

While he was shunned in his own country, the world held him in high regard. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, invited him to India and bestowed a great gesture of respect by not only serving him tea with her own hands, but also sitting by his feet.

In Geneva, Switzerland, a road was named after him. In Beijing, the prime minister and president of China attended a dinner hosted in his honour while the South Korean president requested Salam to advise Korean scientists on how to win the Nobel Prize. Salam was also presented with dozens of honorary degrees of doctorate and awards for his hard work.

Perhaps, if Salam had been accepted and embraced in his own country, science would have enjoyed a completely different status in Pakistan. Our people may have travelled far on the road of scientific progress.

Alas, we did not.

However, it is never too late. If Pope John Paul II could apologise on behalf of the Catholic Church for the mistreatment of Galileo in the 17th century, why can’t we apologise to Salam?

We are sorry, Salam.

We are sorry for defaming you and for not understanding your worth. We are sorry for all the hatred we showed you in life and in death.

For only once a mistake is acknowledged, can one strive on the path of rectifying it.

“Imagine a world where the merchant of death is rewarded, while a
scientific visionary is disowned and forgotten. Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s
only Nobel laureate, the first Muslim to win the Physics’ prize
helped lay the groundwork that led to the Higgs Boson breakthrough. And
yet in Pakistani schools, his name is erased from the text books…”

His scientific contributions aside. In Islam there are no If’s OR But’s. Anybody who doesn’t accept Prophet Mohammad as the Last Prophet is NOT a Muslim. It is simple as that !Recommend

Ali

We are going to celebrate his birthday on January, 29 in one of the session in an Inter’l Conference (http://sdea2.nust.edu.pk/) and one of his student/collaborator would shed light on his life and scientific contributions. Let’s apologize in a proper way.Recommend

Ali Ehsan

No wonder an Indian newspapers is emphasizing so much for him being a “Muslim” and us not respecting him. I see what ET is trying to achieve here. Just planting seeds against the idea of two nation theory. We never know if he really did something wrong and helped India.Recommend

Ali Abbasi

His religion aside, his contributions were to science and not religion. Your posturing has no place nor value in the avenues of science and humanity.Recommend

Muhammad Saim

Dr Salam and for that matter all Ahmadies’ firmly believe that Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W was Khatam-un-Nabiyeen. We don’t need certificate from you or any National Assembly !Recommend

It will take next two to three generations to apologies this great man … as Pakistan has got at least five generations which are taught complete wrong history … Ahemidiya’s are non muslims and many more including that they got the Independence from India … and Islam started in Pakistan …in 1947Recommend

Patriotic Pakistani

We are the one “lucky” nation which has a habit of criticizing all those who have promoted country’s positive image at the international level, be it Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam, Malala Yousafzai, and even Imran Khan.Recommend

Erased? NO
I still remember that that was a paragraph about him along with Dr. AQ Khan in my 9th grade Physics textbook.Recommend

islooboy

while every one remebers abdus salam no body remembers the Polish rocket missile man of Pakistan Jozef Marian Walady slav Turowics he died in traffic accident we still dont know if it was assasination or accidentRecommend

Apart from being a great scientist, Dr. Salam was a superb human being. He loved Pakistan from the depths of his heart and strived tirelessly for the advancement of science in Pakistan.
Among Pakistani rulers, it was President Ayub alone who made him scientific adviser and he was able to lay the foundations of scientific infrastructure in Pakistan. The subsequent rulers were however, too coward to work with him openly. In spite of all the disappointments he suffered at the hands of Pakistani rulers he persisted in his love for Pakistan. He wanted to establish the International Center for Advancement of Theoretical Physics in Pakistan but the government functionaries, out of fear of fanatics, did not cooperate with him.
He went to receive his Nobel prize in Pakistani dress as a proud Pakistani and talked at length about his dreams for advancement of science in Pakistan and other third world countries. He donated his entire prize money for award of science scholarships to the students of his native Jhang district, regardless of the sect or creed of the recipient.
He was a symbol of simplicity and humility, always ready to help others. Under his sponsorship a large number of Pakistani scientists had the opportunity of conducting research at Trieste, Italy and attending summer colleges in Pakistan.
He always desired to be buried in Pakistan. When his body arrived in Islamabad, we as a nation, once again failed to respect and honor him. President Leghari was too afraid to receive his body. Dr. Salam was quietly flown to Rabwa during night and buried. The important thing is that he is buried in Pakistan, the country he loved so much.Recommend

Hasham

No doubt he was a great scientist and the one Pakistan should be proud of. But wouldn’t it be better to call him Ahmadi and move forward. What’s harm in that as It’s the law of the land!Recommend

Moiz Omar

This country rejects and disgraces those who work for it, and calls people who wish to destroy it ‘martyrs.’ Rest in peace Dr. Abdus Salam. You did a lot for Pakistan. Thank you.Recommend

Tara

Show me where is this required for accepting Islam. I though Kalima Tayyaba was what was needed and that only states the Oneness of God and declares the Holy Prophet PBUH as a messenger of Allah.Recommend

mohsin ali rana

nice work bro…………………keep it up….thats why muslims treated in abroad as minorities. Tit for tatRecommend

Tara

If this makes you happy and a better person and makes you achieve at least the same level of success as Salam, I will grant you that.Recommend

bushra

Where is it written. To convert someone you make him recite kalma and prophet Muhammad as last prophet is not part of it.Recommend

MI

I would really like to see the picture of Indra Ghandhi sitting by Salam’s feet…More importantly I can’t understand how one can guide somebody to win a Nobel prize….it just happens naturally I think….Despite respecting Salam alot as a Pakistani scientist, I wish there was little less exaggeration in this pieceRecommend

raja basharat

He was the only scientist of the world who saw no contradiction between The Holy Quran and Science…He said that whatever I had achieved was the blessings of reading The Holy Quran…So, I consider him as the Greatest of Scientists in the world…A devoted Ahmadi Muslim and Patriotic to Pakistan….Recommend

Umair

So being a non-muslim means that your work won’t be acknowledged???
what kind of rule is this??
and who can decide if a person is muslim or not.. what if someone else call’s you non-muslim..Recommend

Dusty936

You’ve done a great job… This article is simply Amazing… Hats Off!Recommend

Believer

His work was not only for science but also for the religion. Infact he said that he got the idea for his work from the Holy Quran. He wanted to proved that there is only one force in his world which is Allah Almighty and he while working towards it he combined two forces and presented a thoery that one day all of these forces will unite and prove that there is no one but Allah Almighty and they say that he is non-Muslim who themselves cannot produce anything except hate speech, violence and tarnishing the beauty of Islam.Recommend

Parvez

To apologise needs a sense of humility, a great deal of courage and an acute understanding that by apologising you make yourself a better person.
In this case it is simply the right thing to do and the fact that you have done so, is admirable.Recommend

ammar

There is an analogy to make here which is unfortunately a bitter truth:

-Just like Salam’s contribution is neglected in Pakistan his “version” of Ahmadiyya Islam is also not accepted in Pakistan.

-Outside Pakistan, Salam’s contribution is highly praised just like his version of “Islam”. Every non Muslim( now please dont say they all are enemy of Islam) accept them Muslim and respect the Ahmadiyya.

Unfortunately the Ahmadiyya Muslims represent the peaceful teaching of Islam and spreading it all over the world. While the reset of the Muslims are either too busy or dont care about Islam.
Ahmadiyya is growing fast and one day their version will dominate. At least it is the peaceful version!Recommend

goggi (Lahore)

The appropriate, human and a civilized headline should be first and foremost, a general apology from the whole Ahmadi community and absolutely free from double standards:
“We are sorry, our Ahmadi country fellows…………… to make a hell of your lives in your own motherland. In our intolerant, irrational and obsessive religion mania we did not even spared the venerable and genius Dr. Abdus Salam!”Recommend

Malik Al-Hamid

When asked, where did he get his inspiration from all this tremendous achievement. He is was ‘The Holy Quran’.
This to me, is a sign of a True Muslim. While you follow the clergyman, He follows the Quran.Recommend

Differences with Jamat-e-Ahamdiyya is one thing, but are we suppose to forget that they are also humans at the end of the day?
I am neither a cleric nor a scholar but would like to see educated masses of Pakistan extracting benefits from the work and legacy of Dr. Abdus Salam. Allah SWT has made some laws and continuously asks humans to ponder over what’s present in the nature around them. And His Laws never change for any human being irrespective of the latter’s faith and beliefs.
The nation continues to ridicule, abuse and ignore Dr. Abdus Salam. I would simply like to ask a question to all those who continue to talk negative against Salam sahib: You and kids living in your home would definitely like to study about and consult the works of people like Schrodinger, Isaac Newton, Boyles , Galileo, Einstein, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Isn’t it. Even if you are not into their field of studies or business, you would still consider these names as inspirations of human history. But did any Muslim after studying about or praising these individuals end up becoming an Atheist, Christian or Jewish? So why are you singling out and showing disrespect towards Salam sahib simply for him being an Ahmadi?Recommend

charanjeet maan

A great man,a superb scientist.I am one of those who had had the privilege of receiving their degrees at his hands.(GND University, Amritsar,Punjab,India)Recommend

Rabia Mirza

I totally agree that we should have appreciated Dr Abdus Salam for his work but lets not please describe him as muslim. One has to believe in Muhammad S.A.W being the last prophet to embrace islam. ET please stop misleading people about religion. Its unacceptable.Recommend

Saleem

Jinnah,s ideology is state has no business with the religion,we deviated from this ideology and Bangladesh adopted so our future is now at stake,Recommend

the problem, the root cause, is simply that we as a nation cannot (WILL NOT) mind our own business. we have been trained and prepared subliminaly to butt our noses into every other person’s life, who he is, what is his religion, which hand does he eat his food with, what does he do when he goes home at night. till the time we keep intruding in the private lives of other people, this is the only outcome. it doesnt give you brownie points in heaven if you can prove that he is a non muslim. human beings do good deeds in this world regardless of their religious tilt. yet , i will also agree with one of the commentators that it will take a very very long time for the general (naive) mindset of this nation to change.
people all over are discovering things like the higgs boson and working on perfecting the science of teleportation, while all we want to do is kill and defame.Recommend

007

Haven’t read the article cos the title says it all. Seems yet another blog aimed at lowering our national self-esteeem. Don’t we have something good to write about? Even if it’s something old-fashioned; why don’t we write about poisitives that we surely can find ourselves. It’s all about perspective. Writers are opinion makers and they shouldn’t have such dark thoughts. They should be able to show us the light at the end of the tunnel.Recommend

The greatest mind in Pakistan and we let you down…….Sorry for all the pain we have caused you being a Pakistani…….Recommend

Nimra

A Pakistani made us So proud and yet we disregard his achievements. No matter what his religious beliefs were, he was a Pakistani who represented us in the world and never let us down. That’s what matters.Recommend

Stop blaming the theory and look at the different army regimes which is responsible for the state Pakistan is in right now. Instead of building institutions. There is still hope until we stop extremism and let institutions build with proper accountability.Recommend

Ali Ehsan

Thats the best you could come up with instead of giving a rational reply?. Oh wait I dont blame you.Recommend

Naseema Perveen Sheen

A very well written article, Pakistan is a country where a reputed personality is defamed. In fact my country fails to own its own resources. Alas!Recommend

It was not that Pakistani govt. never respected Dr. Salam. This paragraph of yours itself shows that Dr. Abdus Salam was being honored in Pakistan:

“Abdus Salam worked as the science advisor for the Government of Pakistan and laid the infrastructure of science in the country. He also served as a founding director of SUPARCO, worked for the establishment of PAEC and contributed in PINSTECH as well. He believed in the idea of ‘Atom for Peace’ and contributed in the atomic bomb project of Pakistan.”

But what we need to observe is why was he not honored later in his life? And yes, this is true that Dr. Salam could cause a better scientific future for Pakistan.Recommend

Waqas

Salam hurted the sentiments of Muslims by calling himself Muslim and telling everyone he was a Muslims but he contradicted the fundamentals of what is a Muslim. He was not a Muslim and should not have done what he did.Recommend

Ghania

Excellent article! U just made me realize how ignorant i’ve been! How ignorant everyone in Pakistan is! We don’t respect and give credit to people who actually deserve it. The result is in front of us all. Sigh!Recommend

I cant understand why do you people have to cross that thin line and a boundary which is supposed to be not crossed over by every rightest and factual mind.

OK I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU FEEL ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AND TALENTED MAN FROM SUBCONTINENT AND PROBABLY THE WORLD IN HIS DOMAIN.

Please call him a great physicist, mathematician, scientist but avoid misleading some of us!Recommend

Feroz

Great scientists don’t need any accolades – the father of
modern physics, Galileo, was deemed heretic by the clergy too and forced to
live the rest of his life in prison. It is better that the religious brigade (and
the Pakistani society at large) doesn’t recognize Abdus Salam’s achievements,
because that will only lessen his stature (if that is even possible).

I thought only Kalima Tayyaba was needed to become a muslim in the time of the Holy Prophet PBUH. Now you are giving additions from mullahs that the Holy Prophet PBUH did not require of new converts. Please give me one reference from Ahadees that he asked people to say the kalima and what you are requiring. Thank you.Recommend

Najeeb ullah

That is the problem ..there was just a paragraph about him and that too with qadeeer khan..Come on Man there is ocean of diffrence between the stature of Salam and Qadeer. Nobody knows AQkhan in the science communityRecommend

Islamist a.k.a jahil by ET

so you are the new aalim of Islam?
you will tell who is muslim who is not.Recommend

Muhammad Adnan

Abdus Salam did not deserve the Noble Prize and other people did more important work but did not get rewarded. You should read the book by Professor Frank Close from Oxford University. Salam is held up as a hero by liberals and secular apologists to criticize the second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan and Ordinance XX.Recommend

Don Doherty

Brilliant article. Effectively captures all that is wrong in Pakistan. Courageous and very necessary.Recommend

Saad

You do realize the examples you gave of ppl honoring him were non muslims? No muslim nation or countrymen acknowledge him because they don’t see him as muslim hence he wasn’t the first ever muslim nobel prize winner, because he wasn’t a muslim.
If a pakistani christian, jew, hindu, sikh etc were to win they would be celebrated in Pakistan. People pretending to be muslims hence defaming Islam are not. Not here and most likely in no muslim country.Recommend

AHMED MUNIR

qalma tyaba and these days a certificate from DEEN KAI THAIKAIDAAR.Recommend

Some self serving Islamists have made a habit of calling people non-Muslims. He calls himself Muslim so be it. What is your problem? You’ll enter jannah based on your own deeds and others based on theirs. He will decide what He must decide, you ordinary self proclaimed religious scholars need not worry.

Imagine what he could have done for Pakistan and how much our generations would have benefited from this patriotic Pakistani.Recommend

Sane

In Geneva, Switzerland, a road was named after him. In Beijing, the prime minister and president of China attended a dinner hosted in his honour while the South Korean president requested Salam
to advise Korean scientists on how to win the Nobel Prize. Salam was
also presented with dozens of honorary degrees of doctorate and awards
for his hard work.

Malala is record holder of getting recognized and winning awards in such a short time and in this age. By the time she reaches around 50 years, must have won nobel many times and other awards to which she would be unable to count. Prof. Abdul Salam or any other in the world can not beat Malala at least till she is in this world.Recommend

I am an Ahmadia Muslim from Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. LAILAHA ILLALLAHMOHAMMADURASOOLALLAH! That is my kalima Tayyaba. If someone have problem with that then it is YOUR problem deal with it.Recommend

Faulitics

AQ Khan is well know in the international nuclear black market community. That counts for something maybe a paragraph in a textbook :-)Recommend

Faulitics

So you are suggesting that it’s ok to treat him the way he was treated if by chance, he is Hindu or one of the other middle eastern religions.Recommend

Ali Faraz Haque

And just who gave you the authority to judge and label someone a non muslim. Its not your judgment that matters. His faith, his imaan is for the same Allah that you worship. Non believers came and prayed in the mosques with idols hidden in their sleeves and the Prophet (PBUH) knew each and every one of them. Did he (PBUH) point them out. He might not be a muslim as per our teachings, but our teachings teach us many other things as well and I dont see you following them here.Recommend

Ali Faraz Haque

I think the idea of “love thy neighbor” has reallly sunk into your very fiber hasnt it? If you believe the idea is flawed, I propose you join the ranks of the people on the other side of divide. Calling the two nation theory flawed and predicting annihilation for the same country you live in I have only one word to describe it, hypocrite.Recommend

Ali Faraz Haque

You had 5 years of massive infrastructural rebuilding. Still 5 more to go, hows that working out for you?Recommend

A very good article no doubt but my worry is that who is going to teach our masses. Majority of who are illetrates and surely do not have the access to or understanding of the contents of these blogs. They seek all their divine knowledge from the Mullah at the mosques who can fabricate the stories about other sects and religions to create anger among them who cannot imagine not to carryout the orders of the Maulvi sahib and in the name of Islam go out to burn the houses of the minorities…who will tell them the difference between the right and wrong. who is going to teach them true Islam. I am worried because these are the misguided people I see within such mobs carrying out these henious acts of violence.

Dr. Abdus Salam was a great scientist, I thank all the somewhat literate modern Pakistanis who accept this atleast while saying that he is not a muslim which on contrary is the biggest violation of one’s very basic human rights.
Let take this as an example, people in US are very proud of Mohammad Ali and accept him as a Legendary American boxer who was declared as ‘Sportsman of the Century’ but not being described as ‘some chap from our country who did well in boxing but was a muslim afterall and black too’.
If we cannot exhibit religious tolerance againist the minorities in our country then what gives us the right to protest againist the hardline hindus who mistreat the muslims in India. Where is our empathetic sense lost? Why can’t we treat others the way we would like to be treated?
Who on earth is going to educate our masses??? I remain worried…Recommend

usman

If Malala Yousufzai or even somebody else goes out to write a book about OPCW not deserving to win the Nobel prize over her then it does not neccessarily mean that OPCW did not actually deserved to win the Nobel prize. I am sure that the decision makers of Nobel Awards would have conducted a much better research to find the positive aspects within Salam’s work and personality than the efforts made by Prof. Close to gather all the controversies around him.Recommend

Aleem

Ahmadiyya are declared Non-muslims by the government of Pakistan. Don’t you know that?Recommend

Aleem

Yes brother. Who Cares if he was a great scientist? There are millions outside. The greates man walked on this planet was prophet Muhammad SAW, and if someone keeps a slightest doubt about him and Quran is clear about this. They are making people fool here!Recommend

Rayan Syed

Unfortunately, in this country, we regard people like Agha Waqar and vilify the real bright minds like that of Malala and Sir Abdus Salam. Indeed, we have some serious issue with our mindset.

Thank you ET for publishing this very well written & comprehensive article.Recommend

Hassan Fayyaz

I respect what the guy did for science and all that. The only reason Pakistani Govt supports Ismailis is because Ag Khan pours Millions of dollars to Pakistan each year.Recommend

hi

If someone is Christian and you call them non-muslim, then you say who gives me the authority?
I wish to see an airport named after Abdus, however. he was a non-muslim but he was a far better human.Recommend

Talat Mehmood

So much for this hero worship. It make me dizzy. See the man for what he really was and the things in what he believed in Religion. Recommend

Fahad

We have stooped so low that we can’t see the difference between prejudice and reality. Lines are clear yet we ignore them. We refuse to honour a hero just because we think he practices his faith differently. This outrageous and and the people who actually promoted two nation theory never intend it to be used against fellow Muslims. Such a disgraceRecommend

Saleem

I have one through discussions and conclude that all disasters in Pakistan are due to the deviation from Jinnah,s legacy,STATE HAS NO BUSINESS WITH THE RELIGION.Bangladesh adopted Jinnah,s legacy and progressing very fast.THE SUPREME COURT of Bangladesh banned all the religious parties to take part in politics.Recommend

akram

Dr Abdus Salam was a real Muslim, He told in many of his lectures whatever he achieved is fruit of Holy Quran. Pakistani refused to accept not only Dr Salam, many other Scientific progress, for example, When America land a Man on Moon, they refused to accept this landing on Moon.

They read and recite Holy Quran but have NO wisdom to understand hidden treasures of Holy Quran.

Dr Salam do believe that there is none worthy of worship except God Almighty
and Sayyedna (our chief) Hadhrat Muhammad, the Chosen One, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is His Messenger and the Khatamul-Anbiya. We believe that angels are a reality, that Resurrection is a reality, and that the Day of Judgement is a reality; that Heaven is a reality and so is Hell.
Dr Salam do believe that whatever the Glorious and Majestic God has stated in the Holy Qur’an and what ever our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
has stated, is all according to the aforementioned statement, the truth.Recommend

saloo

Regarding history being right or wrong, it simply depends which version you believe in.Recommend

And are you a Muslim Waqas? According to who? Are you sure God considers you a Muslim? In the end that is what will count. Dr. Salam was not only a Muslim but a good Muslim who oberved his 5 prayers faithfully, beleived in the oness of Allah, recited the Kalimah, kept fasts, gave sadqa and gave Quran the credit for all science discoveries that he made. What have you done?Recommend

bob

You must be a real low person to make such a slandeous satement about such a world reknown person!!!Recommend

bob

He was a far btter Muslim and human being then youcwill ever be!!!Recommend